Death Stranding
|directors = Hideo Kojima |producers = * Hideo Kojima * Kenichiro Imaizumi |designers = Hideo Kojima |programmers = |writers = * Hideo Kojima * Hitori Nojima |artists = Yoji Shinkawa |composers = Ludvig Forssell |engine = Decima |platforms = PlayStation 4 |released = November 8, 2019 |genres = Action, strand |modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} Death Stranding is an action, strand video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 4. It is directed by Hideo Kojima – the first game he and his reformed studio have worked on since the disbandment of Kojima Productions as a Konami subsidiary in July 2015. The game was officially announced during Sony's E3 2016 press conference. It is slated to release on November 8, 2019. Story In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked Earth, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the death stranding. With spectral creatures plaguing the landscape, and the planet on the verge of a mass extinction, it's up to Sam to journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation. Characters and cast Gameplay Death Stranding is an action, strand game played predominately from a third-person perspective, but in some instances a first-person perspective. As the deliveryman Sam, the player makes their way through the world carrying cargo, while overcoming various environmental obstacles with equipment, dealing with various enemies, and progressing through the main story. The world of Death Stranding is open and expansive in scope. Featuring biomes such as lush grasslands and forests, cold tundra and snow-covered mountain ranges, and reddish dusty drylands, the diverse environments of the world are extensive and can be fully explored. Though players have melee combat and firearms at their disposal to deal with enemies, lethal violence is not encouraged. Instead encouraged is the forging of connections, driven by the game's Social Strand System. Players are able to use melee combat and firearms against enemies, or attempt to circumvent them entirely, and may run, jump, crouch walk or use vehicles to navigate the world. While under threat from enemies, crouch walking may be used to move stealthily and hide in various cover; a trance connection may be established with a Bridge baby to provide additional assistance in dealing with enemies. When the player dies, they aren't presented with a conventional "Game over", but instead transported to an "upside-down realm" analogous to a "Continue?" prompt, where they can explore and recover lost items. Furthermore, player-determined changes to the game world are persistent, remaining even after player deaths. Presentation Hideo Kojima formally revealed Death Stranding at Sony's E3 2016 conference, through a reveal trailer featuring the then-unidentified lead character Sam, portrayed by Norman Reedus. At TGA 2016, Kojima Productions revealed a teaser trailer featuring a character portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen and another bearing the likeness of Guillermo del Toro. At TGA 2017, Kojima revealed a second teaser trailer, which provided a more expansive look at the game's unique world and story. At E3 2018, an extensive teaser trailer premiering gameplay and incorporating "Asylums for the Feeling" by Silent Poets (feat. Leila Adu) was released, featuring two new key female characters portrayed by Léa Seydoux and Lindsay Wagner. Later that year at TGS 2018, it was revealed that Tommie Earl Jenkins would portray a key character in the game, and that Akio Ōtsuka, Kikuko Inoue, Nana Mizuki and Satoshi Mikami – Metal Gear series veterans – along with Kenjiro Tsuda, had joined the game's Japanese voice cast. For Gamescon 2019, Kojima revealed trailers introducing Deadman and Sam's Bridge baby, Mama, and the Ludens Fan. Development The development of Death Stranding began following Kojima Productions' reformation in December 2015. The game entered full development in 2017. Kojima revealed that in previous games he has worked on, he had to make compromises to bring them to fruition. With Death Stranding, however, he stated that the need for compromise is no longer present, and is confident that the game will be "something completely new that no-one has seen so far", as well as his best creative work yet. Kojima was aware of the belief that he was deliberately proceeding too slowly in the game's development, and revealed that was not the case. It has been suggested that Death Stranding does not solely into one specific gaming genre. Its genre-defying nature has been described in a similar vein to that of Metal Gear: In its infancy, Metal Gear was initially considered to be merely an action game, as the stealth genre was not thought to exist at the time; it would go on to be perceived as something more specific and unique due to its novel stealth elements, ultimately ushering in the stealth genre of video games. Concept All elements of the game, from its story to gameplay, are bound by a unifying idea – that of the "strand", or connection. Kojima believes that humans have constructed "walls" between themselves, and have grown accustomed to isolation. He hopes that in playing Death Stranding, players come to form new bonds with other players around the globe, and that they come to understand the importance of forging new connections with others. According to Kojima, most action games consist of players communicating with the equivalents of "sticks" – swords, guns, punches, kicks and other avenues of physical communication – with the "stick" metaphorically being humanity's first invention. Kojima aims to "tie people together" by utilizing humanity's second invention: the "rope". Despite there being an increased emphasis on "ropes", "sticks" will still be utilized in the game as well, in conjunction with "ropes". Engine After a worldwide tour of video game studios, and with the technical advisement of Mark Cerny, Kojima narrowed down two game engines for Death Stranding, one of which was used to create the game's E3 2016 teaser trailer. Kojima ultimately chose Guerrilla Games' in-house Decima engine after being sent a box containing the engine's source code, which "made him very happy". Additionally, Kojima set up a small satellite studio at Guerrilla Games, in order to work in close liaison with the Dutch studio to improve the engine. Music The official soundtrack of Death Stranding is composed by Ludvig Forssell, who previously worked with Kojima on Metal Gear Solid V. The first two trailers for Death Stranding used songs produced by the Icelandic band : "I'll Keep Coming" in the reveal trailer and "Easy Way Out" in the TGA 2016 teaser trailer. In February 2017, a limited edition 12" single containing the aforementioned two songs was published by Mondo Records, in conjunction with Kojima Productions. This was the first piece of merchandise released for Death Stranding. At E3 2018, the revealed teaser trailer used ' "Asylum for the Feeling" as a background song. The official release date trailer would later use the song "Path" by the band . Release Several release windows were given throughout Death Stranding s development. Kojima stated that, "[Death Stranding] will be out before the Olympics", referencing the Tokyo 2020 Games. Additionally, in 2016, he stated that "there is a movie called Akira, and [Death Stranding] will be out before the year in which Akira is set", with that year being 2019. During the TGS 2018 stage panel, Kojima mentioned that the game is still on track to release when planned, which is the year 2019 in which Akira is set. In a podcast with Dan Fogler, Norman Reedus corroborated a 2019 release. In March 2019, Kojima revealed that "Death Stranding is very slightly behind our initial plan, but not behind by much." On May 29, 2019, on a co-branded PlayStation Twitch stream, the release date trailer was shown for the first time. It announced that Death Stranding will be released on November 8, 2019. The game will be offered in Standard, Special, Digital Deluxe, and Collector's editions. Pre-order bonuses * Death Stranding dynamic PS4 theme * Chibi Ludens PS4 avatar * In game items*: ** Gold "Sam" sunglasses ** Gold hat ** Gold speed skeleton ** Gold armor plate * Unlocked in-game via story progression. Special Edition * Pre-order bonuses * Steelbook case * Death Stranding: Timefall (original music from the world of Death Stranding) ** Music album digital download ** Behind the scenes making of video * Gold "Ludens Mask" Sunglasses* * Unlocked in-game via story progression. Digital Deluxe Edition * Pre-order bonuses * Death Stranding: Timefall (original music from the world of Death Stranding) ** Music album digital download ** Behind the scenes making of video * 10 PSN character avatars * In-game items*: ** Gold power skeleton ** Gold "Ludens Mask" sunglasses ** Gold armor plate (lvl. 2) ** Gold all-terrain skeleton * Unlocked in-game via story progression. Collector's Edition * Pre-order bonuses * Bridges cargo case * Full-sized BB pod * Custom steelbook (including full PS4 game) * Ludens keychain * Death Stranding: Timefall (original music from the world of Death Stranding) ** Music album digital download ** Behind the scenes making of video * 10 PSN character avatars * In-game items*: ** Gold power skeleton ** Gold "Ludens Mask" sunglasses" ** Gold armor plate (lvl. 2) ** Gold all-terrain skeleton * Unlocked in-game via story progression. Reception Prerelease In early 2019, Kojima privately demoed the first two hours of an early version of the game to Guerrilla Games and Metal Gear Solid movie director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. This early showing received much excitement and praise from the viewing parties, with Vogt-Roberts describing the game world as "next-level immaculate". Sam Lake of Remedy Entertainment was also shown the game and stated that it "dares to push the boundaries". In March, The Division 2 director Julian Gerighty was shown the game, and was left thinking it was "mind-blowing" and would be "timeless". In April, Iain Cook of the band CHVRCHES was shown the game by Kojima and was likewise left in awe, stating, "Some of the shit he is doing with the new game is unlike anything I have seen anyone else do." Death Stranding also received notable criticism in its prerelease phase. According to Alanah Pearce, then of IGN, one prolific game developer is said to have tried the game and not liked what they played. David Jaffe, best known for directing the Twisted Metal series and God of War (2005), criticized the game's marketing in a video titled "Death Stranding Marketing: What Are They Thinking?!?". He questioned how well-thought-out the game's marketing plan was, and suggested that "Maybe Kojima's just drank a little bit too much of his own kool-aid and thinks that the kind of cryptic, weird shit that his hardcore fans love... Maybe he's like, 'That's what they love!'", additionally stating that such marketing is rather limited in audience reach. He compared Death Stranding s marketing to that of Gears 5 – a game also being marketed at the time – noting how more accessible Gears 5 came off as being from its marketing, and claimed that Death Stranding would "need word of mouth to save it, because it's fucking weird". Gallery Key art Original key art DS key art 02.jpg Key art featuring Sam DS Sam in tar key art.jpg Key art featuring Sam covered in tar, used as the game's steel book cover art DS key art 05.jpg Key art featuring Sam holding the Bridge baby DS key art 06.jpg Key art featuring Sam holding the Bridge baby DS Cliff key art updated.jpg Key art featuring Cliff DS Deadman key art updated.jpg Key art featuring Deadman DS Fragile key art updated.jpg Key art featuring Fragile DS Amelie key art updated.jpg Key art featuring Amelie DS Die-Hardman key art.jpg Key art featuring Die-Hardman DS Heartman key art.jpg Key art featuring Heartman DS Higgs key art.jpg Key art featuring Higgs DS Mama key art.jpg Key art featuring Mama }} Trailers Death Stranding – E3 2016 Reveal Trailer Death Stranding – TGA 2016 Teaser Trailer Death Stranding – TGA 2017 Teaser Trailer Death Stranding – E3 2018 Teaser Trailer Death Stranding – TGS 2018 Trailer Death Stranding – Release Date Reveal Trailer Notes * A key theme in the game, as well its namesake concept, is – the phenomenon of cetaceans stranding themselves ashore. The event is more encompassing in Death Stranding than it is in reality, however; several other forms of marine life are seen stranded on a beach alongside cetaceans, including crustaceans and fish. * Development of Death Stranding has been so smooth that Sony Interactive Entertainment has stated, "We've never seen a game be made at such a fast pace." * Three Death Stranding Easter eggs can be found in Guerrilla Games' : :# Stranded Necklace – the dog tag-laden necklace worn by Sam in the reveal trailer, described as "Six tarnished metal ingots threaded with a plain wire"; :# Stranded Shackles – the cuffs attached to Sam's wrist in the reveal trailer, described as "Shackles made from an unknown, smooth material"; :# Stranded Figure – the infant doll found in the TGA 2016 teaser trailer, described as "A battered idol of an infant, smelling faintly of decay". * In early October 2016, Kojima took the development team of Death Stranding to visit the Meguro Parasitological Museum, with the purpose of showing his staff members how fundamental parasites are to the ecosystem. References }} External links * Official webpage * PlayStation.com game overview Category:Meta